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How Do the Critics Choice Awards Predict the Emmy Wins and Nominations?

Netflix
The Fourth Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards were held Thursday night, with AMC's Breaking Bad, Netflix's Orange Is the New Black, and FX's Fargo coming away with the big wins. The awards, which are chosen by TV critics, have a knack for recognizing the programs and performances that are often overlooked by the other big television award shows. But do the slightly out-there nominees have a chance for gold when it comes to the Primetime Emmys? We've decided to predict the nominees and winners of this year's Emmys based on the winners of last nights Critics Choice Awards. The two award shows might have more winners in common than you would expect.
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsThe Americans Breaking BadGame of Thrones The Good Wife Masters of Sex True Detective
Emmy PredictionsBreaking BadGame of ThronesThe Good WifeHouse of CardsMad MenTrue Detective
Last year's Emmy winner, Breaking Bad, is coming off a fantastic final season, so it's hard to reason how Vince Gilligan's masterwork won't win the night's big award yet again. But on the slim chance that Bad doesn't win (and we mean slim), True Detective is the most sensible alternative. We don't expect low profile dramas like Masters of Sex and The Americans to be recognized by the Emmys, and the hype on Downton Abbey has cooled of considerably this year. Another Emmy favorite, Homeland, had its worst season yet last year, freeing the category up for some new blood.
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsThe Big Bang Theory Broad City Louie Orange Is the New Black Silicon Valley Veep
Emmy PredictionsThe Big Bang TheoryLouieModern FamilyOrange Is the New BlackParks and RecreationVeep
Freshman dramedy Orange Is the New Black will certainly get nominated at the Emmys, but we're doubtful that Netflix's prison series will win the top prize like it did at the Critics' Choice Awards, certainly not in a race that includes Modern Family. The juggernaut of a sitcom has won the category four times in a row, and there's nothing with enough buzz to stop it's warpath. Elsewhere, Critics' Choice nominees like Silicon Valley and Broad City are way off the Emmys radar, and don't stand a chance of getting nominated.
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsBryan Cranston, Breaking Bad Hugh Dancy, Hannibal Freddie Highmore, Bates Motel Matthew McConaughey, True Detective Matthew Rhys, The Americans Michael Sheen, Masters of Sex
Emmy PredictionsBryan Cranston, Breaking BadJeff Daniels, The NewsroomJohn Hamm, Mad MenDamien Lewis, HomelandMatthew McConaughey, True DetectiveKevin Spacey, House of Cards
McConaughey came out on top at the Critic's Choice Awards, but despite his massive performance in True Detective, we're doubtful he will best Cranston at the Emmys. We're expecting the rest of the category's Emmy nominees to be rounded out with the usual suspects. While the critics recognized the great performances in Hannibal, The Americans, and Bates Motel, we're doubtful that any of those shows will make it to the Emmys this year, or any year for that matter.
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice Awards Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black Keri Russell, The Americans Robin Wright, House of Cards
Emmy PredictionsClaire Danes, HomelandJulianna Margules, The Good WifeElisabeth Moss, Mad MenTatiana Maslany, Orphan BlackKerry Washington, ScandalRobin Wright, House of Cards
When the dust settles, we're expecting Tatiana Maslany to also win the Emmy in this category. At this point, her hype is insurmountable, and riots might break out if she doesn't leave the Nokia theater with something golden.
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsLouis C.K., Louie Chris Messina, The Mindy Project Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory Adam Scott, Parks and Recreation Robin Williams, The Crazy Ones
Emmy PredictionsDon Cheadle, House of LiesLouis C.K., LouieMatt LeBlanc, EpisodesJim Parsons, The Big Band TheoryAndy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-NineRobin Williams, The Crazy Ones
The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons will likely walk home with both awards. In terms of the other nominations, there's no way Chris Messina or Thomas Middleditch have a chance at securing an Emmy nomination. We're also betting that Robin Williams gets nominated, due mostly due organization's usual affection for "veterans" ... or so the Emmys have an excuse to invite the actor to the show and hear his Genie voice.
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsIlana Glazer, Broad City Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep Wendi McLendon-Covey, The Goldbergs Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer Emmy Rossum, Shameless
Emmy PredictionsZooey Deschanel, New GirlLena Dunham, GirlsEdie Falco, Nurse JackieJulia Louis-Dreyfus, VeepMelissa McCarthy, Mike &amp; MollyAmy Poehler, Parks and RecreatonLouis-Dreyfus' foul-mouthed vice-prez will likely win the Emmy along with the Critics' Choice Award this year. As for the other nomination slots, Glazer and Schumer have no chance at getting nominated for Emmys. We're expecting the rest of the nomination list to be filled up with Emmys regulars like Melissa McCarthy and Edie Falco.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsJosh Charles, The Good Wife Walton Goggins, Justified Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad Peter Sarsgaard, The Killing Jon Voight, Ray Donovan Jeffrey Wright, Boardwalk Empire
Emmy PredictionsPeter Dinklage, Game of ThronesWalton Goggins, JustifiedAaron Paul, Breaking BadDean Norris, Breaking BadMandy Patinkin, HomelandJeffery Wright, Boardwalk Empire
Aaron Paul seems like a lock for the Emmys this year. The only person we could see upsetting what is basically destiny at this point is Peter Dinklage, who had a massive year on Game of Thrones. As for the other nominees, we are actually expecting the two award shows to stack up pretty similarly. Mandy Patinkin will definitely get an Emmy nod, while there might be enough space in the mix for long-snubbed Walton Goggins. One can dream, right?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsChristine Baranski, The Good Wife Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad Annet Mahendru, The Americans Melissa McBride, The Walking Dead Maggie Siff, Sons of Anarchy Bellamy Young, Scandal
Emmy PredictionsChristine Baranski, The Good WifeEmilia Clarke, Game of ThronesAnna Gunn, Breaking BadChristina Hendricks, Mad MenMichelle Monaghan, True DetectiveMaggie Smith, Downton Abbey
While Anna Gunn didn't secure a Critics' Choice Award for the last season of Breaking Bad, we're betting she goes home with an Emmy this September. As for the other nominees, we don't expect Maggie Siff, Melissa McBride, and Annet Mahendru to get an Emmy nod, even though each actress certainly deserves the recognition.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsAndre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine Keith David, Enlisted Tony Hale, Veep Albert Tsai, Trophy Wife Christopher Evan Welch, Silicon Valley Jeremy Allen White, Shameless
Emmy PredictionsAndre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-NineJesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern FamilyEric Stonestreet, Modern FamilyTy Burrell, Modern FamilyTony Hale, VeepNick Offerman, Parks and RecreationAt this point, the supporting actor in a comedy category should be renamed the "Which Modern Family actor hasn't won in a while?" and that honor goes to Ferguson. Even though the Critics' Choice Awards don't feature a single nominee from ABC's dominant sitcom, expect at least three nominees from the show on Emmy night. Four if Ed O'Neil sneaks his way onto the bill. Also, kudos to the Critics Choice awards for nominating Albert Tsai for Trophy Wife. Bert will live in our hearts forever.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsMayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory Allison Janney, Mom Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Emmy PredictionsMayim Bialik, The Big Bang TheoryJulie Bowen, Modern FamilyAllison Janney, MomKate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New BlackSofia Vergara, Modern FamilyMerrit Weaver, Nurse Jackie
It might be crazy talk, but we think this category is Orange Is the New Black's best chance for its first Emmy. The show has such a dynamite supporting cast and heavy following that it may be able to crack the winner's circle in its first year of eligibility. We're thinking Kate Mulgrew has a good chance since Modern Family isn't nearly as dominant in this category as it is in Best Supporting Actor.
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DreamWorks
For the bulk of every Rocky and Bullwinkle episode, moose and squirrel would engage in high concept escapades that satirized geopolitics, contemporary cinema, and the very fabrics of the human condition. With all of that to work with, there's no excuse for why the pair and their Soviet nemeses haven't gotten a decent movie adaptation. But the ingenious Mr. Peabody and his faithful boy Sherman are another story, intercut between Rocky and Bullwinkle segments to teach kids brief history lessons and toss in a nearly lethal dose of puns. Their stories and relationship were much simpler, which means that bringing their shtick to the big screen would entail a lot more invention — always risky when you're dealing with precious material.
For the most part, Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman handles the regeneration of its heroes aptly, allowing for emotionally substance in their unique father-son relationship and all the difficulties inherent therein. The story is no subtle metaphor for the difficulties surrounding gay adoption, with society decreeing that a dog, no matter how hyper-intelligent, cannot be a suitable father. The central plot has Peabody hosting a party for a disapproving child services agent and the parents of a young girl with whom 7-year-old Sherman had a schoolyard spat, all in order to prove himself a suitable dad. Of course, the WABAC comes into play when the tots take it for a spin, forcing Peabody to rush to their rescue.
Getting down to personals, we also see the left brain-heavy Peabody struggle with being father Sherman deserves. The bulk of the emotional marks are hit as we learn just how much Peabody cares for Sherman, and just how hard it has been to accept that his only family is growing up and changing.
DreamWorks
But more successful than the new is the film's handling of the old — the material that Peabody and Sherman purists will adore. They travel back in time via the WABAC Machine to Ancient Egypt, the Renaissance, and the Trojan War, and 18th Century France, explaining the cultural backdrop and historical significance of the settings and characters they happen upon, all with that irreverent (but no longer racist) flare that the old cartoons enjoyed. And oh... the puns.
Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman is a f**king treasure trove of some of the most amazingly bad puns in recent cinema. This effort alone will leave you in awe.
The film does unravel in its final act, bringing the science-fiction of time travel a little too close to the forefront and dropping the ball on a good deal of its emotional groundwork. What seemed to be substantial building blocks do not pay off in the way we might, as scholars of animated family cinema, have anticipated, leaving the movie with an unfinished feeling.
But all in all, it's a bright, compassionate, reasonably educational, and occasionally funny if not altogether worthy tribute to an old favorite. And since we don't have our own WABAC machine to return to a time of regularly scheduled Peabody and Sherman cartoons, this will do okay for now.
If nothing else, it's worth your time for the puns.
3/5
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Everett Collection
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival lineup for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary competition and the out-of-competition NEXT section is officially here, and damn are we excited.
As the festival has evolved and grown, so has the long list of actors and directors who have eagerly jumped on board to be a part of the indie film scene, which means that the lineup of actors for the upcoming event is looking pretty solid. In 2014 we can look forward to seeing the works of those like Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, John Slattery, Aaron Paul, Kristen Stewart, and Mark Ruffalo, and comedians such as Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Lena Dunham, Jenny Slate, Aubrey Plaza, Amy Sedaris, and more.
The festival will run from Jan. 16 to 26 in Park City, Utah and will include 118 features. Still to come are the lineups for Slates for Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, New Frontier, Premieres and Documentary Premieres, and the new Sundance Kids category.
Check out the lineup so far (via Vulture):
DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Camp X-Ray / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Peter Sattler) — A young woman is stationed as a guard in Guantanamo Bay, where she forms an unlikely friendship with one of the detainees. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Payman Maadi, Lane Garrison, J.J. Soria, John Carroll Lynch.Cold in July / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Jim Mickle, Nick Damici) — After killing a home intruder, a small town Texas man's life unravels into a dark underworld of corruption and violence. Cast: Michael C. Hall, Don Johnson, Sam Shepard, Vinessa Shaw, Nick Damici, Wyatt Russell.Dear White People / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Justin Simien) — Four black students attend an Ivy League college where a riot breaks out over an “African American” themed party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film explores racial identity in postracial America while weaving a story about forging one's unique path in the world. Cast: Tyler Williams, Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris, Brandon Bell.Fishing Without Nets / U.S.A., Somalia, Kenya (Director: Cutter Hodierne, Screenwriters: Cutter Hodierne, John Hibey, David Burkman) — A story of pirates in Somalia told from the perspective of a struggling, young Somali fisherman. Cast: Abdikani Muktar, Abdi Siad, Abduwhali Faarah, Abdikhadir Hassan, Reda Kateb, Idil Ibrahim.God's Pocket / U.S.A. (Director: John Slattery, Screenwriters: John Slattery, Alex Metcalf) — When Mickey's stepson Leon is killed in a construction "accident," Mickey tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when the boy's mother demands the truth, Mickey finds himself stuck between a body he can’t bury, a wife he can’t please, and a debt he can’t pay. Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, John Turturro.Happy Christmas / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joe Swanberg) — After a breakup with her boyfriend, a young woman moves in with her older brother, his wife, and their 2-year-old son. Cast: Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, Lena Dunham, Joe Swanberg.Hellion / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kat Candler) — When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for their actions and each other in order to bring Wes home. Cast: Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis, Josh Wiggins, Deke Garner, Jonny Mars, Walt Roberts.Infinitely Polar Bear / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Maya Forbes) — A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier. Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, Ashley Aufderheide.Jamie Marks is Dead / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Carter Smith) — No one seemed to care about Jamie Marks until after his death. Hoping to find the love and friendship he never had in life, Jamie’s ghost visits former classmate Adam McCormick, drawing him into the bleak world between the living and the dead. Cast: Cameron Monaghan, Noah Silver, Morgan Saylor, Judy Greer, Madisen Beaty, Liv Tyler.Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter / U.S.A. (Director: David Zellner, Screenwriters: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner) — A lonely Japanese woman becomes convinced that a satchel of money buried in a fictional film is, in fact, real. Abandoning her structured life in Tokyo for the frozen Minnesota wilderness, she embarks on an impulsive quest to search for her lost mythical fortune. Cast: Rinko Kikuchi.Life After Beth / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jeff Baena) — Zach is devastated by the unexpected death of his girlfriend, Beth. When she mysteriously returns, he gets a second chance at love. Soon his whole world turns upside down... Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser.Low Down / U.S.A. (Director: Jeff Preiss, Screenwriters: Amy Albany, Topper Lilien) — Based on Amy Jo Albany's memoir, Low Down explores her heart-wrenching journey to adulthood while being raised by her father, bebop pianist Joe Albany, as he teeters between incarceration and addiction in the urban decay and waning bohemia of Hollywood in the 1970s. Cast: John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Flea.The Skeleton Twins / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Johnson, Screenwriters: Craig Johnson, Mark Heyman) — Estranged twins Maggie and Milo coincidentally cheat death on the same day, prompting them to reunite and confront the reasons their lives went so wrong. As the twins' reunion reinvigorates them, they realize the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship. Cast: Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, Ty Burrell, Boyd Holbrook, Joanna Gleason.The Sleepwalker / U.S.A., Norway (Director: Mona Fastvold, Screenwriters: Mona Fastvold, Brady Corbet) — A young couple, Kaia and Andrew, are renovating Kaia´s secluded family estate. Their lives are violently interrupted when unexpected guests arrive. The Sleepwalker chronicles the unraveling of the lives of four disparate characters as it transcends genre conventions and narrative contrivance to reveal something much more disturbing. Cast: Gitte Witt, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, Stephanie Ellis.Song One / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kate Barker-Froyland) — Estranged from her family, Franny returns home when an accident leaves her brother comatose. Retracing his life as an aspiring musician, she tracks down his favorite musician, James Forester. Against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s music scene, Franny and James develop an unexpected relationship and face the realities of their lives. Cast: Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, Mary Steenburgen, Ben Rosenfield.Whiplash / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Damien Chazelle) — Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity. Cast: Miles Teller, JK Simmons.
NEXT
Appropriate Behavior / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Desiree Akhavan) — Shirin is struggling to become an ideal Persian daughter, a politically correct bisexual, and a hip, young Brooklynite, but fails miserably in her attempt at all identities. Being without a cliché to hold on to can be a lonely experience. Cast: Desiree Akhavan, Rebecca Henderson, Halley Feiffer, Scott Adsit, Anh Duong, Arian Moayed. World Premiere.Drunktown's Finest / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sydney Freeland) — Three young Native Americans—a rebellious father-to-be, a devout Christian woman, and a promiscuous transsexual—come of age on an Indian reservation. Cast: Jeremiah Bitsui, Carmen Moore, Morningstar Angeline, Kiowa Gordon, Shauna Baker, Elizabeth Francis. World Premiere.The Foxy Merkins / U.S.A. (Director: Madeleine Olnek, Screenwriters: Lisa Haas, Jackie Monahan, Madeleine Olnek) — Two lesbian hookers work the streets of New York. One is a down-on-her-luck newbie; the other is a beautiful—and straight—grifter who's an expert on picking up women. Together they face bargain-hunting housewives, double-dealing conservative women, and each other in this prostitute buddy comedy. Cast: Lisa Haas, Jackie Monahan, Alex Karpovsky, Susan Ziegler, Sally Sockwell, Deb Margolin.A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ana Lily Amirpour) — In the Iranian ghost town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, depraved denizens are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire. Cast: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Dominic Rains, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marnó, Milad Eghbali. World Premiere.Imperial Dreams / U.S.A. (Director: Malik Vitthal, Screenwriters: Malik Vitthal, Ismet Prcic) — A 21-year-old, reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future are put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles. Cast: John Boyega, Rotimi Akinosho, Glenn Plummer, Keke Palmer, De'aundre Bonds. World Premiere.Land Ho! / U.S.A., Iceland (Directors and screenwriters: Martha Stephens, Aaron Katz) — A pair of ex-brothers-in-law set off to Iceland in an attempt to reclaim their youth through Reykjavik nightclubs, trendy spas, and rugged campsites. This bawdy adventure is a throwback to 1980s road comedies, as well as a candid exploration of aging, loneliness, and friendship. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Earl Nelson, Alice Olivia Clarke, Karrie Krouse, Elizabeth McKee, Emmsjé Gauti. World Premiere.Listen Up Philip / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Alex Ross Perry) — A story about changing seasons and changing attitudes, a newly accomplished writer faces mistakes and miseries affecting those around him, including his girlfriend, her sister, his idol, his idol's daughter, and all the ex-girlfriends and enemies that lie in wait on the open streets of New York. Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce, Krysten Ritter, Josephine de La Baume. World Premiere.Memphis / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Tim Sutton) — A strange singer drifts through the mythic city of Memphis, surrounded by beautiful women, legendary musicians, a stone-cold hustler, a righteous preacher, and a wolf pack of kids. Under a canopy of ancient oak trees and burning spirituality, his doomed journey breaks from conformity and reaches out for glory. Cast: Willis Earl Beal, Lopaka Thomas, Constance Brantley, Devonte Hull, John Gary Williams, Larry Dodson. World Premiere.Obvious Child / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Gillian Robespierre) — An honest comedy about what happens when Brooklyn comedian Donna Stern gets dumped, fired, and pregnant, just in time for the worst/best Valentine's Day of her life. Cast: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, David Cross, Gabe Liedman, Richard Kind. World Premiere.Ping Pong Summer / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Tully) — 1985. Ocean City, Maryland. Summer vacation. Rap music. Parachute pants. Ping pong. First crushes. Best friends. Mean bullies. Weird mentors. That awkward, momentous time in your life when you're treated like an alien by everyone around you, even though you know deep down you're as funky fresh as it gets. Cast: Susan Sarandon, John Hannah, Lea Thompson, Amy Sedaris, Robert Longstreet, Marcello Conte. World Premiere.War Story / U.S.A. (Director: Mark Jackson, Screenwriters: Kristin Gore, Mark Jackson) — A war photographer retreats to a small town in Sicily after being held captive during the conflict in Libya. Cast: Catherine Keener, Hafsia Herzi, Vincenzo Amato, Donatella Finocchiaro, Ben Kingsley. World Premiere.
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITIONAlive Inside: A Story of Music &amp; Memory / U.S.A. (Director: Michael Rossato-Bennett) — Five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease and dementia—many of them alone in nursing homes. A man with a simple idea discovers that songs embedded deep in memory can ease pain and awaken these fading minds. Joy and life are resuscitated, and our cultural fears over aging are confronted. All the Beautiful Things / U.S.A. (Director: John Harkrider) — John and Barron are lifelong friends whose friendship is tested when Barron's girlfriend says Barron put a knife to her throat and raped her. Not knowing she has lied, John tells her to go to the police. Years later, John and Barron meet in a bar to resolve the betrayal.CAPTIVATED The Trials of Pamela Smart / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jeremiah Zagar) — In an extraordinary and tragic American story, a small town murder becomes one of the highest profile cases of all time. From its historic role as the first televised trial to the many books and movies made about it, the film looks at the media’s enduring impact on the case. The Case Against 8 / U.S.A. (Directors: Ben Cotner, Ryan White) — A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.Cesar's Last Fast / U.S.A. (Directors: Richard Ray Perez, Lorena Parlee) — Inspired by Catholic social teaching, Cesar Chavez risked his life fighting for America’s poorest workers. The film illuminates the intensity of one man’s devotion and personal sacrifice, the birth of an economic justice movement, and tells an untold chapter in the story of civil rights in America. Dinosaur 13 / U.S.A. (Director: Todd Miller) — The true tale behind one of the greatest discoveries in history. Day One film.E-TEAM / U.S.A. (Directors: Katy Chevigny, Ross Kauffman) — E-TEAM is driven by the high-stakes investigative work of four intrepid human rights workers, offering a rare look at their lives at home and their dramatic work in the field. Fed Up / U.S.A. (Director: Stephanie Soechtig) — Fed Up blows the lid off everything we thought we knew about food and weight loss, revealing a 30-year campaign by the food industry, aided by the U.S. government, to mislead and confuse the American public, resulting in one of the largest health epidemics in history. The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz / U.S.A. (Director: Brian Knappenberger) — Programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz achieved groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing. His passion for open access ensnared him in a legal nightmare that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26. Ivory Tower / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Rossi) — As tuition spirals upward and student debt passes a trillion dollars, students and parents ask, "Is college worth it?" From the halls of Harvard to public and private colleges in financial crisis to education startups in Silicon Valley, an urgent portrait emerges of a great American institution at the breaking point. Marmato / U.S.A. (Director: Mark Grieco) — Colombia is the center of a new global gold rush, and Marmato, a historic mining town, is the new frontier. Filmed over the course of nearly six years, Marmato chronicles how townspeople confront a Canadian mining company that wants the $20 billion in gold beneath their homes. No No: A Dockumentary / U.S.A. (Director: Jeffrey Radice) — Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD, then worked for decades counseling drug abusers. Dock's soulful style defined 1970s baseball as he kept hitters honest and embarrassed the establishment. An ensemble cast of teammates, friends, and family investigate his life on the field, in the media, and out of the spotlight. The Overnighters / U.S.A. (Director: Jesse Moss) — Desperate, broken men chase their dreams and run from their demons in the North Dakota oil fields. A local Pastor's decision to help them has extraordinary and unexpected consequences.Private Violence / U.S.A. (Director: Cynthia Hill) — One in four women experience violence in their homes. Have you ever asked, “Why doesn't she just leave?” Private Violence shatters the brutality of our logic and intimately reveals the stories of two women: Deanna Walters, who transforms from victim to survivor, and Kit Gruelle, who advocates for justice. Rich Hill / U.S.A. (Directors: Andrew Droz Palermo, Tracy Droz Tragos) — In a rural, American town, kids face heartbreaking choices, find comfort in the most fragile of family bonds, and dream of a future of possibility. Watchers of the Sky / U.S.A. (Director: Edet Belzberg) — Five interwoven stories of remarkable courage from Nuremberg to Rwanda, from Darfur to Syria, and from apathy to action. WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
52 Tuesdays / Australia (Director: Sophie Hyde, Screenplay and story by: Matthew Cormack, Story by: Sophie Hyde) — Sixteen-year-old Billie’s reluctant path to independence is accelerated when her mother reveals plans for gender transition, and their time together becomes limited to Tuesdays. This emotionally charged story of desire, responsibility, and transformation was filmed over the course of a year—once a week, every week, only on Tuesdays. Cast: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Del Herbert-Jane, Imogen Archer, Mario Späte, Beau Williams, Sam Althuizen. International Premiere.Blind / Norway, Netherlands (Director and screenwriter: Eskil Vogt) — Having recently lost her sight, Ingrid retreats to the safety of her home—a place she can feel in control, alone with her husband and her thoughts. But Ingrid's real problems lie within, not beyond the walls of her apartment, and her deepest fears and repressed fantasies soon take over. Cast: Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Vera Vitali, Marius Kolbenstvedt. World Premiere.Difret / Ethiopia (Director and screenwriter: Zeresenay Berhane Mehari) — Meaza Ashenafi is a young lawyer who operates under the government's radar helping women and children until one young girl's legal case exposes everything, threatening not only her career but her survival. Cast: Meron Getnet, Tizita Hagere. World Premiere.The Disobedient / Serbia (Director and screenwriter: Mina Djukic) — Leni anxiously waits for her childhood friend Lazar, who is coming back to their hometown after years of studying abroad. After they reunite, they embark on a random bicycle trip around their childhood haunts, which will either exhaust or reinvent their relationship. Cast: Hana Selimovic, Mladen Sovilj, Minja Subota, Danijel Sike, Ivan Djordjevic. World Premiere.God Help the Girl / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stuart Murdoch) — This musical from Stuart Murdoch of Belle &amp; Sebastian is about some messed up boys and girls and the music they made. Cast: Emily Browning, Olly Alexander, Hannah Murray, Cora Bissett, Pierre Boulanger. World Premiere.Liar's Dice / India (Director and screenwriter: Geetu Mohandas) — Kamala, a young woman from the village of Chitkul, leaves her native land with her daughter to search for her missing husband. Along the journey, they encounter Nawazudin, a free-spirited army deserter with his own selfish motives who helps them reach their destination. Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Geetanjali Thapa, Manya Gupta. International Premiere.Lilting / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Hong Khaou) — The world of a Chinese mother mourning the untimely death of her son is suddenly disrupted by the presence of a stranger who doesn't speak her language. Lilting is a touching and intimate film about finding the things that bring us together. Cast: Ben Whishaw, Pei-Pei Cheng, Andrew Leung, Peter Bowles, Naomi Christie, Morven Christie. World Premiere.
Lock Charmer (El cerrajero) / Argentina (Director and screenwriter: Natalia Smirnoff) — Upon learning that his girlfriend is pregnant, 33-year-old locksmith Sebastian begins to have strange visions about his clients. With the help of an unlikely assistant, he sets out to use his newfound talent for his own good. Cast: Esteban Lamothe, Erica Rivas, Yosiria Huaripata. World Premiere.To Kill a Man / Chile, France (Director and screenwriter: Alejandro Fernandez Almendras) — When Jorge, a hardworking family man who's barely making ends meet, gets mugged by Kalule, a neighborhood delinquent, Jorge's son decides to confront the attacker, only to get himself shot. Even though Jorge's son nearly dies, Kalule's sentence is minimal, heightening the friction. Cast: Daniel Candia, Daniel Antivilo, Alejandra Yañez, Ariel Mateluna. World Premiere.Viktoria / Bulgaria, Romania (Director and screenwriter: Maya Vitkova) — Although determined not to have a child in Communist Bulgaria, Boryana gives birth to Viktoria, who despite being born with no umbilical cord, is proclaimed to be the baby of the decade. But political collapse and the hardships of the new time bind mother and daughter together. Cast: Irmena Chichikova, Daria Vitkova, Kalina Vitkova, Mariana Krumova, Dimo Dimov, Georgi Spassov. World Premiere.Wetlands / Germany (Director: David Wnendt, Screenwriters: Claus Falkenberg, David Wnendt, based on the novel by Charlotte Roche) — Meet Helen Memel. She likes to experiment with vegetables while masturbating and thinks that bodily hygiene is greatly overrated. She shocks those around her by speaking her mind in a most unladylike manner on topics that many people would not even dare consider. Cast: Carla Juri, Christoph Letkowski, Meret Becker, Axel Milberg, Marlen Kruse, Edgar Selge. North American Premiere.White Shadow / Italy, Germany, Tanzania (Director: Noaz Deshe, Screenwriters: Noaz Deshe, James Masson) — Alias is a young albino boy on the run. His mother has sent him away to find refuge in the city after witnessing his father's murder. Over time, the city becomes no different than the bush: wherever Alias travels, the same rules of survival apply. Cast: Hamisi Bazili, James Gayo, Glory Mbayuwayu, Salum Abdallah. International Premiere.
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
20,000 Days On Earth / United Kingdom (Directors: Iain Forsyth &amp; Jane Pollard) — Drama and reality combine in a fictitious 24 hours in the life of musician and international culture icon Nick Cave. With startlingly frank insights and an intimate portrayal of the artistic process, this film examines what makes us who we are and celebrates the transformative power of the creative spirit. World Premiere.Concerning Violence / Sweden, U.S.A., Denmark, Finland (Director: Göran Hugo Olsson) — Concerning Violence is based on newly discovered, powerful archival material documenting the most daring moments in the struggle for liberation in the Third World, accompanied by classic text from The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon. World Premiere.The Green Prince / Germany, Israel, United Kingdom (Director: Nadav Schirman ) — This real-life thriller tells the story of one of Israel’s prized intelligence sources, recruited to spy on his own people for more than a decade. Focusing on the complex relationship with his handler, The Green Prince is a gripping account of terror, betrayal, and unthinkable choices, along with a friendship that defies all boundaries. World Premiere.
Happiness / France, Finland (Director: Thomas Balmès) — Peyangki is a dreamy and solitary eight-year-old monk living in Laya, a Bhutanese village perched high in the Himalayas. Soon the world will come to him: the village is about to be connected to electricity, and the first television will flicker on before Peyangki's eyes. North American Premiere.Love Child / South Korea, U.S.A. (Director: Valerie Veatch) — In Seoul in the Republic of Korea, a young couple stands accused of neglect when "Internet addiction" in an online fantasy game costs the life of their infant daughter. Love Child documents the 2010 trial and subsequent ruling that set a global precedent in a world where virtual is the new reality. World Premiere.Mr leos caraX / France (Director: Tessa Louise-Salomé) — Mr leos caraX plunges us into the poetic and visionary world of a mysterious, solitary filmmaker who was already a cult figure from his very first film. Punctuated by interviews and previously unseen footage, this documentary is most of all a fine-tuned exploration of the poetic and visionary world of Leos Carax, alias Mr. X. World Premiere.My Prairie Home / Canada (Director: Chelsea McMullan) — A poetic journey through landscapes both real and emotional, Chelsea McMullan’s documentary/musical offers an intimate portrait of transgender singer Rae Spoon, framed by stunning images of the Canadian prairies. McMullan’s imaginative visual interpretations of Spoon’s songs make this an unforgettable look at a unique Canadian artist. International Premiere.The Notorious Mr. Bout / U.S.A., Russia (Directors: Tony Gerber, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Viktor Bout was a war profiteer, an entrepreneur, an aviation tycoon, an arms dealer, and—strangest of all—a documentary filmmaker. The Notorious Mr. Bout is the ultimate rags-to-riches-to-prison memoir, documented by the last man you'd expect to be holding the camera. World Premiere.Return to Homs / Syria, Germany (Director: Talal Derki) — Basset Sarout, the 19-year-old national football team goalkeeper, becomes a demonstration leader and singer, and then a fighter. Ossama, a 24-year-old renowned citizen cameraman, is critical, a pacifist, and ironic until he is detained by the regime's security forces. North American Premiere.SEPIDEH – Reaching for the Stars / Denmark (Director: Berit Madsen) — Sepideh wants to become an astronaut. As a young Iranian woman, she knows it’s dangerous to challenge traditions and expectations. Still, Sepideh holds on to her dream. She knows a tough battle is ahead, a battle that only seems possible to win once she seeks help from an unexpected someone. North American Premiere.We Come as Friends / France, Austria (Director: Hubert Sauper) — We Come as Friends views colonization as a human phenomenon through both explicit and metaphoric lenses without oversimplified accusations or political theorizing. Alarmingly, It is not a historical film since colonization and the slave trade still exist. World Premiere.Web Junkie / Israel (Directors: Shosh Shlam, Hilla Medalia) — China is the first country to label “Internet addiction” a clinical disorder. Web Junkie investigates a Beijing rehab center where Chinese teenagers are deprogrammed. World Premiere.
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Kent Smith/Homeland
Where we left off: Saul (Mandy Patinkin) continued to track down those responsible for the Langley attack, Quinn (Rupert Friend) struggled with the death of the young boy he shot, Dana (Morgan Saylor) and Jessica (Morena Baccarin) attempted to fix their family problems, Carrie (Claire Danes) went off the deep end (thanks to Saul and the CIA), and Brody (Damian Lewis) was nowhere to be seen. (Check out our recap of Homeland season three, episode two if you need more of a refresher.)
"Tower of David"So long, Dana, and hello, Brody! In contrast to the previous two episodes of Homeland, which have been filled to the brim with Dana-drama, the third episode of the season kicks the angsty teen to the curb (and almost everyone in the main cast except for Carrie) and focuses in on daddy dearest.
Let's focus on the positives first: Brody is in our lives once again, and he's brought back the suspense that the show's been missing. The episode opens up in Venezuela with Brody frantically being transferred from one truck to the next because of bullet wounds to the gut and an insane amount of blood being spilled out of him. Cut to him in a poorly-lit warehouse being shot up with heroin (for the pain) before a suspicious looking (and sounding) doctor operates on him with the help of a little boy (the doctor might be a pedophile). Within minutes, there’s already almost enough suspense to make up for the lack of excitement in the first two episodes.
For an unknown period of time, he's cared for by Esme, a sweet young woman who can barely speak any English, and visited by El Niño (Manny Perez), Esme's father and the ringleader of the group that is keeping him hostage/safe. Unable to take being locked away in a decrepit, towering building looking over the city (and unable to stomach the sight of anyone else being pushed off the building to their death), he escapes his confines and seeks refuge in a mosque that he sees from his room. Assuming that those at the mosque will keep him safe, he graciously accepts the comfort of an imam's home only to be set up by the imam and attacked by Venezuelan police. Luckily for Brody, El Niño's men come to his rescue and quickly (and mercilessly) kill the police, the imam, and the imam's wife. Thanks to naïve Brody, the suspense and murder, which clearly makes the show what it is, is once again an integral part of Homeland.
As for Carrie, she's still locked up in the psych ward, but it looks as if she’s finally succumbed to taking her meds again – even though it's just for show. She doesn't want to be back on her meds, and she doesn’t want to be doing anything they're making her do (like building popsicle-stick model homes, an activity which drives her to bang her head against a mirror until she's bleeding), but she’s just doing it so she can go back home. Towards the end of the episode, a lawyer comes to visit her on behalf of an unknown associate who wants to work with her, but Carrie refuses his plea assuming that they want her to turn on the CIA. The episode ends with shots of both Carrie and Brody alone in their own personal cells.
And now for the bad, or rather, the shaky aspects of the episode: it tries too hard to mirror the "stuck-in-a-hole" positions that both Carrie and Brody are in (we get it, they're both alone), and for as much time as it spends on Brody, it doesn’t really explain too much of what's actually happening. Brody's plotline has brought back the suspense that has clearly been missing from the show, but it doesn't explain why Brody is in Venezuela, who El Niño is, what the creepy doctor is up to, or what they're planning on doing with him. You would think that at least one of those questions would be answered during the nearly 40 minutes that were devoted to Brody.
But in the end, while there are definitely some issues with the pacing and focus of the episode, Brody is finally back and that gives us hope that things are looking up for Homeland.
Highlight of the episode: When the imam calls out Brody for what he really is: "You’re not a Muslim. You’re a terrorist."
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SSN is talking to talent who may very well find themselves waking up early the morning of July 18 with an Emmy nomination. We are big fans of David Harewood, known to American TV audiences as David Estes onHomeland, and feel he is completely deserving of a Best Supporting Actor nom for his steely and determined portrayal as the Deputy Director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center. Harewood speaks to SSN about his character’s untimely death and the talented Homeland ensemble.
SSN: David, how does it feel to be thought of as a potential Emmy nominee?Harewood: I'm completely honored to even be thought about in this way. It's a complete honor and a huge surprise.
SSN: Even though David Estes is one of the good guys, did you ever perceive that the audience saw you as a bad guy, because they were rooting for Carrie and Brody?Harewood: I was the bad guy from the beginning! I'm well aware of Estes being the spoiler of fun. I'm the teacher stopping the fun, without a doubt. You very rarely saw Estes smile. He was the stickler, the authority figure. You'd be hard-pressed to remember a scene in which you saw Estes smile. The patriot in him, perhaps, didn't lend him to being loved. To be honest, I played every scene as if I was terribly jealous of Brody. That was my secret, even though it wasn’t written that way.
SSN: As a Brit, what was your reaction to being cast as an American federal agent in the post-9/11 era? Did you learn things about America that you didn’t know previously?Harewood: Completely, yes. From getting the role to starting filming was literally sixteen days. I knew nothing about the CIA. I had never done an American accent before. I quickly got hold of a book called "Legacy of Ashes" about the CIA. I devoured that within a month. People have often talked about the CIA, how undercover it was, how negative it was. I discovered lots of things I knew nothing about: how much it had meddled in other countries, and various other underhand tactics. The other reading I had done, just how thankful we have to be that someone is out there doing these things. It was a real exploration and eye-opener. Some of the reading was very scary. I saw heroes and patriots. In terms of 9/11, how much damage had been done to the American psyche. David Estes is a total patriot. I never saw him as a bad guy; I saw him as a guy who loved his country. I had no formal dialect training until I got there. A lot of my references were blue-collar American black voices: basketball players, sportsmen, comedians like Chris Rock. I looked on the internet and saw college professors and then when I got to America, I watched CNN 24/7, and saw Don Lemon and lots of CNN journalists and their professional tone. I was very uncomfortable initially because I'm mainly a stage actor. It took me a long time to get comfortable.
SSN: Can you talk about working with this ensemble of actors?Harewood: During episode six, a note a director gave me keyed me into the character. I got to see great screen acting up close with Mandy, Damian and Claire. I was watching this magic happen before my eyes. Estes had no subplot, no emotional life, I felt he was hiding something. Turns out that’s exactly what the writers felt; they didn't quite want to locate this guy. For the first four or five episodes, I did background stuff and none of it was working. I talked to Mandy one day and he told me to relax. I got this note from the director during my first scene with Damian, us two Brits, and I get on very well with Damian. We played this scene and the director took me to one side and said, "I just saw David and Damian in that scene. I can see you like him. Next take, don't let me see what you’re thinking." I ran with that idea and thought, that’s Estes. Even though he doesn’t have the authority to go in and see the terrorist guy, I don’t want to show Damian that. Next take, I gave him nothing! And it was so exciting because I didn’t have to do anything. I kept a blank page. And I thought to myself, I really enjoyed that. Then Estes became Mr. Ambiguity for me. Everything I did was ultra-ambiguous.
SSN: Which also makes total sense for a federal agent: not to show his hand.Harewood: Absolutely. Absolutely. It really helped me. Whether I was in a scene with Claire, Damian or Mandy, I was as ambiguous as I could be. No one knew if he was good, bad or the mole. It gives me great pleasure that people don’t know, to this day, if he's a good guy or a bad guy.
SSN: What was your reaction when you found out David Estes would be killed in the season-ending explosion?Harewood: Y'know, I had a feeling. I didn’t know where it was going, they never told us. I can remember around episode five or six thinking, I didn’t know where this is going and thought it would come to a head. I had a fantastic two years and literally, twenty minutes after Alex Gansa told me the news, I sat down and wrote him an email thanking him so much for a fantastic couple of years. There’s no downside to this.
SSN: What was the best part of your Homeland experience?Harewood: Working with those fantastic actors. I've learned an enormous amount about screen acting, and about the business. On my first American job, I got to the Emmys, and the Golden Globes, shook hands with Sidney Poitier, I was in a room with Clooney. It was just incredible. If you're going to get a job, let your first job be one that wins every award going and you swan up on the stage at the Emmys and Globes. It's been an amazing journey for me. I've learned from the best and acted with the best and I'm really very proud of that.
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Another year, another Golden Globes. But though the awards have been handed out, the formalwear neatly tucked away, and the attending celebs are starting to recover from their hangovers, we still have some burning questions about the ceremony itself.
1. Why did Lena Dunham thank Chad Lowe?
The Girls creator and star had announced on Twitter that the next time she won an award she would right Hilary Swank’s wrong of 13 years ago: forgetting to thank her husband Chad Lowe when accepting her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Boys Don’t Cry. So that’s exactly what Dunham did. However, she forgot to name-drop Lowe during her first Globe win last night, for Best Actress in a TV Comedy. Lowe immediately tweeted, “Congrats to @lenadunham on your Golden Globe win. But, seriously? You forget to thank me?! After all we've been through? I'm shocked.” Order was restored to the universe when Dunham did thank him after winning for Best Comedy Series. "I also promised myself that if I ever got this chance, I would thank Chad Lowe,” Dunham said. That prompted Lowe to respond, “Dearest Lena Dunham, you complete me” and “Now that I'm trending worldwide (finally) does that mean I don't have to give my daughters a bath or change their diapers anymore?”
2. Was Paul Rudd and Salma Hayek’s awkward presentation of Best Actor in a TV Drama due to technical difficulties?
Afraid so. Rudd and Hayek started off fine with a joke about the nominees, Bryan Cranston, Damien Lewis, Jon Hamm, Steve Buscemi, and Jeff Daniels. Hayek set up the punchline with, “They drink, they do drugs, they have a huge ego, and they are not to be trusted,” followed immediately by Rudd’s, “And that’s just their agents!” Okay, that kinda bombed since maybe agent-related humor is off-limits at awards shows. But it was better than what followed: silence. After their quip, Hayek and Rudd just stood there. It turns out the teleprompter did not display the names of the nominees they were to rattle off. Rudd tried to fill dead air by saying, “Hello, how’s everyone doing?” (Maybe if Tina Fey and Amy Poehler had been around more, they could have salvaged this awkward moment!) Finally, the video of the nominees started to roll, and Rudd and Hayek were spared. But that wasn’t the only glitch of the night. A strange buzz was heard over the speech from outgoing HFPA president Aida Takla O’Reilly, which is a shame because she was pretty funny. And on two different occasions the NBC producers’ countdown clock was heard after the broadcast had already resumed. Maybe the nominees weren’t the only ones drinking….
3. Who did Tarantino fist bump?
The Django Unchained director seemed all smug when he fist-bumped someone at his table after Amy Poehler called movie actors beautiful and TV actors “rat-faced.” It was like, “Look at me. I’m a movie director, and I only surround myself with the genetically gifted.” Definitely a faux pas. But its severity is lessened when you find out whom exactly he fist-bumped, since the recipient was unfortunately out of frame: Sofia Vergara. If she’s “rat-faced,” call me a fan of the Order Rodentia. Obviously, Tarantino was joking.
4. Was Savannah Guthrie’s red carpet dress the same as the one Hilary Swank wore to the 2005 Oscars?
We’ll let you decide for yourself.
5. Is this the first year that no broadcast network series won anything at the Golden Globes?
Yes. Call it another ominous milestone for the Big Four, but not a single broadcast network took him a Globe on Sunday. That marks a departure from last year when Modern Family won for Best TV Comedy. Even then, that was the only award a broadcast network received. This year, the drama categories were dominated by Showtime’s Homeland and PBS’ Downton Abbey, the comedy categories by HBO’s Girls and Showtime’s House of Lies, and the miniseries category by History’s Hatfields &amp; McCoys and HBO’s Game Change.
6. Were the TV Categories basically just a redo of the Emmys?
Almost entirely — except for the fact that the Television Academy hasn’t fully abandoned network TV just yet. Emmy is still hung up on Modern Family, and Julie Bowen and Eric Stonestreet won in September, with the series itself being honored as Best Comedy. And they also awarded Jon Cryer Best Actor in a Comedy. The only other alteration was that Julia Louis-Dreyfus won Best Actress in a Comedy for HBO’s Veep, but otherwise the awards are precisely the same.
7. How does Michael J. Fox’s son qualify as a "philanthropist"?
The Spin City alum's 23-year-old son, Sam Fox, was Mr. Golden Globe last night, which he meant he shared the duty of handing out the statuettes to the winners alongside Miss Golden Globe, Francesca Eastwood. (Mr. and Miss Golden Globe are traditionally the children of Hollywood A-Listers.) Fox the Younger was described on-air as a “philanthropist." So what exactly does he do? He works for a website called Farmers Web, which is a startup platform that assists small farmers in selling their goods to wholesale buyers like restaurants, so that they can stay competitive against corporate agriculture. As for the tangential burning question, “Can you be a 23-year-old philanthropist, unless you’re the child of a Hollywood star, politician, or business leader?” I think we all know the answer to that.
8. What’s up with Tommy Lee Jones’ Col. Sanders ‘stache?
There was quite a bit of odd facial hair on display at the Beverly Hilton. Bill Murray opted for the full walrus effect. Bryan Cranston’s Walter White goatee was well under way (meaning that the remaining episodes of Season 5 are about to go into production. Yay!). Idris Elba opted for a Burt Reynolds semi-handlebar. But the strangest bit of face whiskers had to be those worn by Tommy Lee Jones, with a mustache and a patch below his lips. Just when you thought you wouldn’t see anything follicle-related from Jones that was more unsettling than his wig in Lincoln! Not to worry, though. He isn’t about to enter the fried chicken racket. Jones has just wrapped shooting Luc Besson’s mob thriller Malavita (due Oct. 18) and he obviously just hasn’t wanted to get a shave yet.
9. Um, why doesn’t Maggie Smith ever show up for awards shows?
She’s never made a public statement about why she's almost always a no-show, but the most likely reason is that she’s just really, really busy. If not on TV or in movies, the 78-year-old is still very frequently to be found on the British stage. In fact, her last appearance at any awards ceremony was at the 2002 BAFTAs when she presented a career achievement honor to Judi Dench. The last time she accepted an award in person in the United States? In 1979, when she won her second Oscar, as Best Supporting Actress for the film California Suite.
10. Was Damien Francisco robbed of the Globe for Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for Dog President?
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! The miniseries’ answer to Johnny Depp was up for his stirring turn in Dog President, which we assume is another Quality with a Capital Q HBO production from the makers of Warm Springs. But Francisco lost to Kevin Costner for Hatfields &amp; McCoys. Maybe he'll get another shot if Dog President spinoff Canine-in-Chief ever goes into production.
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
[Photo Credits: NBC (2); Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Jody Cortes/WENN]
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This Thursday, the Golden Globe nominations will be announced. I know that you're... slightly interested. Now, you likely won't be logging onto the Internet as soon as you get up to see if your favorite movies and actors were nominated like you do on Oscar nod morning, but you still care. You care because your friends will want to talk about the nominations at the bar and you don't want to seem like some idiot who's pop culture illiterate.
Also, the Golden Globes, with their boozy reputation and clandestine voting schemes, is the fun awards show of the season. Wacky things happen. People are in the bathroom when they should be on stage and Matt LeBlanc is walking home with trophies when he should be at home lighting cigars with residual checks he set on fire. So, in honor of the Golden Globes' devil-may-care attitude, I've compiled a list of my Golden Globes fantasy winners. These folks have a better chance of becoming the seventh Jolie-Pitt than winning — let alone being nominated — but, hey, it's the Globes. Wackier things have happened.
And don't worry, I'll get serious again around Oscar time.
Best Movie, Drama: Silver Linings Playbook: I don't care what you (or the Hollywood Foreign Press) may say — this is a drama. Sure, there are yuks and chuckles, but this is essentially a movie about overcoming heartache and a mental illness. Do you know what the "dra" in "dramedy" stands for? Drama. That's what. So suck it. This should win.
Best Actor, Drama: John Hawkes, The Sessions: What did the Deadwood alum have to act with? Half of his face and a poker thing he puts in his mouth to dial the phone. That's what. Helen Hunt had her whole naked body and a giant forehead and she wasn't nearly as good.
Actress, Drama: Doona Bae, Cloud Atlas: Some people put this movie on their Worst of 2012 lists. They are jerks. This movie wasn't the best, but there were plenty of great things about it. The best was probably this unknown Korean actress who plays a robot who yearns to be free — not to mention several other roles.
Movie, Comedy or Musical: Magic Mike: There wasn't very many funny things in this male stripper movie, but there was a lot of music. And dance numbers. And grinding. And abs! Yes, this should be considered a musical, and I can't remember one that was shot better, had more pathos, or that featured Olivia Munn's boobs.
Actor, Comedy or Musical: Paul Rudd, Wanderlust or This is 40: Despite the fact that I haven't seen This Is 40 yet and Wanderlust was only pretty good (even though it did costar my arch nemesis, Jennifer Aniston), I can't ignore that Paul Rudd has been one of the best players in Hollywood for the better part of a decade. He deserves some recognition for something other than being an unlikely gay sex symbol.
Actress, Comedy or Musical: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables: Just give her the damn thing already.
Supporting Actor, Movie: Matthew McConaughey's butt cheeks, Magic Mike: Oscar talk surrounding McConaughey has been amping up for months. And I simply don't understand it. As the film's strip club owner, the actor played the same vaguely leering, twangily insincere guy he always plays. But his ass? At his age? That's what they make trophies for, people. This year, the men deserve as many "golden globes" jokes as Christina Hendricks' boobs get.
Supporting Actress, Movie: Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect: The middling puff pastry that was Pitch Perfect was slightly stale, if not for one big dollop of Australian cream smacked in the middle. Yup, Fat Amy made the whole movie. Well, that and puke scene.
Best Animated Feature: ParaNorman: Usually, I watch kids' movies before I got to bed — no matter how tired I am, I'm not going to miss anything revelatory. But I stayed awake for this whole claymation extravaganza, which weaved plenty of adult-centric jokes into its teen-centric storyline. Fun for the whole family, except the dog. He can't wear 3D glasses.
Best Foreign Language Film: Jiro Dreams of Sushi: I didn't even see this, but it was the only foreign language film that came out last year that I could think of. Congrats!
Best Director: Ang Lee, Life of Pi: This movie has a story about as shallow as a booze puddle in the Lohan's front yard (I'm not quite sure what that means), but it was gorgeous. Those glowing islands! Those whales! That sinking ship! That Tiger, which Lee must have used a whole fleet of trainers to train! Oh, wait. The tiger was entirely CGI? Neve rmind. Give the award to Tyler Perry.
Best Television Show, Drama: Mad Men: Sure Homeland was good, but Don Draper and company got robbed at the Emmys for its stellar season. They even had The Beatles. The Beatles always win. It's in their contract somewhere.
Best Television Actor, Drama: Damien Lewis, Homeland: There are two reasons he should win. 1. Gingers in Hollywood don't get the respect they deserve, and 2. He looks at Claire Danes' ugly cry and doesn't crack up laughing. That is talent.
Best Television Actress, Drama: Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men: If this show ends before she wins something, it will be one of the greatest travesties in pop culture, just under the fact that The Wire never won an Emmy and Topo Gigio is not an EGOT.
Best Television Show, Comedy or Musical: The Musical Numbers on Smash: The show as a whole leaves plenty to be desired. There were annoying characters, nonsense plots, and scarves so awful, they make you want to fashion them into a noose and hang yourself. But the series' musical numbers? Oh, the musical numbers! Pure heaven, with great set pieces, intricate choreography, and witty lyrics. If this show was just numbers, it would be heaven.
Best Television Actor, Musical or Comedy: Max Greenfield, New Girl: Sorry, Zooey D, there is only one reason I watch this show, and it has nothing to do with your bangs.
Best Television Actress, Musical or Comedy: Parker Posey, Louie: Yeah, yeah, yeah, she was only in three episodes and barely in two of them. But the one she was in — "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 2" — was one of the best episodes of television all year. God, Hollywood has been wasting her since the '90s.
Best Miniseries or Television Movie: Restless: The second and final episode of this twisty spy drama airs on Sundance Channel on Friday and you should really check it out, if only for Charlotte Rampling and Michelle Dockery (of Downton Abbey fame). Also, my boyfriend helped develop it and since this is my fantasy Golden Globes, it wins and he gets a big raise and then buys me something fancy. That's the way these things work, right?
Best Actor, Miniseries or Television Movie: Toby Jones, The Girl: Let's take a minute to think about Toby Jones. He played Truman Capote the same year Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Oscar for Capote and now his take on Alfred Hitchcock is going up against Anthony Hopkins' version in Hitchcock. Give this poor guy a break!
Best Actress, Miniseries or Television Movie: Lindsay Lohan, Liz &amp; Dick: You know you want to see this happen, if only to see what she wears, how everyone reacts, and what she says in her acceptance speech. Admit it.
Best Supporting Actor, Television: Adam Pally, Happy Endings: While there are popular favorites like Big Bang Theory, critical favorites like Parks and Recreation, and things that everyone on the Internet has a total inexplicable boner for like Community, there is one stealth show that is the best sitcom on TV. It is Happy Endings. Max is the best character. He deserves to win. BOOM!
Best Supporting Actress, Television: Anyone but Maggie Smith: Seriously, lady. We keep giving you awards and you keep not showing up. No more. No more, I say!
Follow Brian Moylan on Twitter @BrianJMoylan
[Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures; Universal Pictures (2); AMC; Lifetime]
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Each year, the Screen Actor's Guild, the biggest acting union in Hollywood, throws its two cents into the awards ring and bestows upon actors in both film and television with the coveted statues for excellence in performance. It's a top honor that's also a major predictor for the Academy Awards — in the past three years, the SAG Awards replicated the winners of the Oscars Best Actor categories in all but one category (in 2011, when Viola Davis in The Help bested Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady before losing to her come Oscar time). The SAG Awards are award to the year's biggest win.
This Tuesday, SAG announced their nominations for the 19th year of their awards ceremony. Once again, every actor and film looks primed for the Academy Awards. Lincoln and Les Misérables lead the pack thanks to buzzy performances by Daniel Day-Lewis and Anne Hathaway, while Breaking Bad and Mad Men once again earn nods on the TV side.
Check out the full list of nominations. The awards are set to air on Jan. 27, 2013 on TBS:
Outstanding Performance by a Cast
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis,Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Denzel Washington, Flight
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem Skyfall
Robert De Niro Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble
Amazing Spider Man
Bourne Legacy
The Dark Knight Rises
Les Miserables
Skyfall
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Homeland
Mad Men
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Julianna Marguiles, The Good Wife
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damien Lewis, Homeland
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 Rock
Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie
The Office
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock30 Rock
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Louis CK, Louie
Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway &amp; Gellhorn
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Charlotte Rambling, Restless
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals
Alfie Woodard, Steel Magnolias
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Kevin Costner, Hatfields and McCoys
Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Ed Harris, Game Change
Clive Owen, Hemingway &amp; Gellhorn
Bill Paxton, Hatfields and McCoys
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
Sons of Anarcy
The Walking Dead
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Credit: Walt Disney Pictures]
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Homeland has been a little hit-or-miss in its second season; that’s not to say that the show still isn’t maybe the best thing currently on air (I personally believe that the very best piece of unfinished scripted television is Mad Men, but that’s an entirely different debate). This season has just been a little less consistent and a little too soapy on occasion, especially in its lingeringly awkward subplots. However, the bulk of tonight’s episode reminded me why this show can so regularly reinvent its trajectory and provide massive shocks… especially when it comes to character development. We still have some plotting issues, people (more on that later). But tonight was huge, in what felt like the first segment of a three-part finale.
Saul goes to find Roald Dahl (I know that’s not his name, it’s just pretty damn close) at a chicken &amp; waffle house; Saul was an idiot for not getting some chicken and waffles. Allegedly Roald always comes to this very waffle house every Tuesday, which seems dumb if you’re a legendary black ops mastermind. Roald admits that “Peter Quinn” is a member of his team, but he has no idea why Estes requested a “solider” for the Brody/Nazir case. Saul and Roald seem to have an awkward past, and there’s an edge to the conversation that Saul might not be entirely trustworthy in Roald’s eyes. I love Saul too much to distrust him, just as Roald puts Saul on blast for having too many emotions for this line of work. Two men throwing their weight behind their personal philosophies; we’ll see this writ large later in the episode.
At Safe House CIA, Jessica tells Mike that she doesn’t feel guilty about showing her nipples the night before. Brody walks in and the “romance” is ruined, followed by some Dana’s angst, some dead swoosh of Jessica’s hair, some worthless Chris banter, and a crumbling family. This place is so much fun! Carrie calls, because they’re going to have to map out Brody’s stepping down from Congress and withdrawing his name from the Vice President race – deconstructing Nazir’s chess game as Nazir’s team falls by the wayside. Carrie gets off the phone, smiles in the wake of her Brody Emotions, turns up some jazz on her car stereo… and is slammed by a giant white van. Cut to black. I jumped.
No one knows about Carrie yet. Estes is celebrating the takedown at Roya’s breakfast diner from last week’s episode, but mentions that he’ll wait to have “at least several martinis” for when Nazir is taken down; I just don’t see Estes nursing a delicate martini glass, honestly. I don’t see anyone on this show having the patience for a martini glass, if I’m bringing “honestly” to the table. After the quasi-celebration, Saul accosts Estes in the hallway (how Sorkin of you) – is Quinn insurance for Estes, to make sure that news of the Issa-killing drone strike doesn’t make it to the general public from Brody’s lips? That would be a bad thing for Estes. Estes makes nice use of the f-word to throw the attack back on Saul. Quinn arrives with news that Carrie’s car has been located, smashed up; however, Carrie herself is missing. Umm. Uh oh.
Brody, trying to have another awful conversation with Jessica, gets a call on his cell. Only it’s not a call, but Fake Facetime on a Blackberry. We get a close-up on one very familiar crazy eyeball, and then tight on Homeland’s most terrifying face. NAZIR HAS CARRIE. I REPEAT, NAZIR HAS CARRIE. Carrie is tied up and gagged in some abandoned plant, and Nazir wants to trade information for Carrie’s life – he wants the serial number to the Vice President’s pacemaker, to be controlled wirelessly. Salome calls a car for the Vice President’s house while Brody spins a bunch of lies, and the wheels are in motion to save Carrie.
Carrie. Carrie Carrie Carrie Carrie Carrie. I am so sorry for being so mean to you this season whenever you play tonsil hockey with Nicholas Brody or disobey orders; now I must watch you suffer through all of this terrorist hostage shit. Remember the days when this show featured easy images like a lot of naked woman trying to get into a harem? You know a show is getting crazy when your lunatic protagonist is in the hands of the world’s biggest terrorist in some abandoned space near DC…
Saul makes this sad puppy, “my daughter is missing” face at everyone while picking through Carrie’s car; he calls Brody from Carrie’s phone, as that was the last outgoing call she made before she was nabbed. Brody can’t blab – because he’s about to give Nazir very scary information and because he’s hanging out in the backseat with Salome – but it’s clear that tensions are too high. We awkwardly linger on a short detour for Dana and Finn, which contains some of the worst writing this show has seen. Like, actually. Dana says that she’s in this apartment/hotel safe house complex because her father is a “superspy and terrorists want to kill him or shit.” Really, Dana? Finn wants to get back together, but they can’t because they killed someone. The end. Goodbye. Dana, open your mouth and tame your Topanga hair. Thanks.
Thankfully, we follow that horribly ill-conceived madness with possibly the gretest writing that Homeland has ever given us – a nice tete-a-tete between Carrie and Nazir, as the two sling around their beliefs on terrorism, justice, and human instinct. Nazir realizes that the love between Brody and Carrie is real and mutual; Carrie rejects Nazir’s water, his practices, and his warped understanding of American pride. Or, is his view so warped? Is there potentially some small kernel of honesty at the core of Nazir’s destructive, heinous outlook? Carrie isn’t scared because she’s so enraged. One example exchange?
Carrie: “You’re never going to leave this country alive.”
Nazir: “I know. And I don’t care.”
Carrie: “Bullshit.”
Navid Negahban deserves an Emmy for this scene alone, and Claire Danes turns in her best work of the season as well. It’s a remarkable thing. Putting Carrie and Nazir in a room together is dangerously exciting – they’re both touched by passionate insanity, they’re both razor sharp, and they will both do anything to fight for the very heart of their ideology. It’s a huge moment, these two together. Carrie is the baddest bitch on television. I love this show. In this moment, this show is perfect. My heart exploded.
All that perfection is soon to be undone. Brody makes it up to the Vice President’s home office by telling a bunch of zany half-lies, and sweating like an escaped convict the entire time. Brody finds the pacemaker kit after searching for far too long, and finds a handy magnifying glass after searching for 17 seconds; the serial code, it seems, is really damn tiny. A magnifying glass? Are you f*cking kidding me? Brody calls Nazir, demanding that Carrie be let free first. Nazir makes Brody swear on Issa’s life, which Brody does fervently and with (moving) honesty… and then Carrie is set free. The blast of pure emotional glee on Brody’s face is overwhelming; Damien Lewis played this whole episode kind of… weird? Whatever. True love for Carrie. Carrie runs from the compound; Nazir’s got to have an angle on this, right? Brody texts the serial number to Nazir. Nazir sends the information over to his secret young medical helper, who puts the pacemaker’s information into an elaborate computer system. Let the countdown begin.
I have no idea how shutting off a pacemaker works, so I really hope this entire sequence was somewhat plausible in the real world; it does not feel realistic to me, and weird moments of self-conscious questioning (on the plot’s behalf) started talking me out of the pulse-pounding beauty of things. A magnifying glass. The Vice President finally returns from his meeting, finding Brody in his office. Spare us, VP. Brody admits that he’s retiring from Congress, for his family. Vice President Walden is momentarily crippled by some pain in his chest, and Brody digs his claws into to the man’s faltering health – Brody isn’t stepping down for his family, but rather stepping down for himself. Brody lets the VP fall to the ground, his heart giving out; Brody moves the phone out of the VP’s reach. “I’m killing you,” Brody whispers in his ear. The rage needed to avenge Issa is contained in that whisper, and it’s staggering. Walden, the smarmiest Vice President in the history of everything, is dead; Brody finally has some direct retribution in the aftermath of that heinous drone strike. True love for Issa.
Here’s what I mean with Homeland needing to ramp up the plotting elements – this show is balls-to-the-wall intense when there are two characters in a room, slinging their words at one another. It’s magnetic and unstoppable. However, sometimes, the elements that link those scenes together fall a little flat; they force me to ask too many questions, and therefore push me outside of the scene. You should never be asking questions in the moment! You should only be screaming! Plotting should be confident and, at least in Homeland’s case, blisteringly realistic. Season One never felt overtly manipulated. Season Two needs to spin all those plates at the same time. Then again, Homeland has always been a show about words, and words are best when these characters aren’t on the run…
While the VP dies, Carrie is running through the wilderness; she stands in a middle of the road, forces a trucker to stop, and nabs his cell phone so she can call Saul. This weirdly comical scene, with Carrie trying to figure out her location while the trucker chases her down the street, also filled my heart with dread. Maybe it was just some Twin Peaks echoes, but still. As Saul &amp; Co. race from Langley to find Nazir’s location, two officers escort Saul back inside the building; they have some questions for him, questions that Estes signed off on. Is this to cover up Quinn, the drone strike? DON’T YOU DARE HURT SAUL, HOMELAND. DON’T YOU DARE. Saul has always been handicapped by mole suspicions, but I will fight for his soul until that twist arrives. Are we going to dig into his past next week? I hope so. I miss that reality show The Mole on ABC. Anderson Cooper hosted the first two (glorious) seasons.
Carrie was instructed to stay put, so does Carrie stay put? No! Carrie finds her way back into the abandoned mill. Carrie picks up a pipe, her weapon of choice. Carrie winds through the complex, making her way to a closed door. Carrie opens the door. The episode fades to black. Cue the credits. This soft, hyper-hanging cliffhanger made this episode feel like a part one, a whispered ellipse with a hammering heartbeat. Carrie peeked down the rabbit hole. We’d be dumb not to follow.
[Photo Credit: Kent Smith/Showtime]
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It seems that Homeland is able to reboot at the end of every episode in this second season. My feeling is that shows often end with a giant finale cliffhanger (example: Dexter) to inject some new juice when things start to feel a little stale; Claire Danes &amp; Co., however, put everything on the line every single week. That’s really outrageously impressive. I know a lot of people say that “The Weekend” is the biggest and baddest episode of Homeland (not that there are a ton of episodes to pick from, yes) but “New Car Smell” was… MASSIVE. That’s really the only word to describe where we’ve traveled by the end of the episode. Note: Meredith Stiehm wrote both “The Weekend” and “New Car Smell” – give the woman a raise!
Saul stops by Estes’ home, but Kenny, Estes’ son, greets him; Kenny is wearing a fantastic Darth Vader costume, and while I’m not really sure of the implications (Saul is everyone’s father?), it’s a cute gag to start the episode. We swiftly move on to Saul showing THE TAPE, and Estes just sort of having a major brainmelt moment. So, what’s the plan, with this tape in play? Nothing changes – leave Brody right where he is, watch the scoundrel, follow him to Nazir and therefore the next attack. The greatest point of this conversation is that Estes has to admit that he was very wrong; while such an admission will probably never happen for Carrie directly, the look on Saul’s face is more than enough. The power in this situation is slowly shifting into Carrie’s hands, as she has always been the one that should be in control.
I made something of a mistake in my recap for last week’s episode – I spoke of how much I dislike Jessica this season, but I forgot give Morena Baccarin the appropriate props in actually accomplishing such a thing; sure, the woman isn’t my favorite character, but the actress is providing some real power to combat Damian Lewis’ Emmy-winning performance. Anyway, Brody tries to apologize to Jess for last week’s insanity, but Jessica is really not in the mood; I have a feeling that it takes a lot more than an espresso to ease back from the edge of divorce. Ultimately, Brody moves out because he can’t say something true to Jessica. The fundamental rift in this relationship has been a long time coming, but the crumbling of Brody’s support system still stings because it became so real so soon. In a minor-key reflection, Dana is growing up and out of her relationship with quasi-boyfriend Xander; Dana realizes that there’s a lot more to being a teenager than enjoying pot, which might just equal enjoying Finn, but still. Dana also knows that her father is lying about everything in the universe, and Brody’s car does not smell like Brody’s car. Better clean out that dead bomb builder guilt stench! Pay attention to the way things smell.
I was concerned that we’ve already watched more than three minutes of a Homeland episode without actually spotting Carrie, but clearly that was quickly resolved. Carrie shows up at the new CIA secret Brody compound with her two techie friends; the main member of this duo is named Virgil, but I like to call these men Jasper and Horace, after the 101 Dalmatians characters that must hunt down the pups for Cruella. I’m weird, I know. We all remember Jasper and Horace as the men that helped Carrie install 3,073 secret cameras in Brody’s home when she suspected him of being evil. Carrie meets Peter Quinn, an extremely cute CIA wunderkind that’s running the operation. Carrie has to swallow any attitude and play along; the plan is for Carrie to “accidentally” cross paths with Brody outside of Langley, causing Brody is freak out and run to his handler for instructions.
Brody tries to get his car cleaned after the comment from Dana, and the man running the carwash recommends key lime car freshener. We can 100% assume that anyone recommending a key lime scented car needs immediate medical attention, and therefore all of this car washing business is extremely suspect. Carrie is waiting for Brody to arrive at Langley, but this whole smelly car key lime thing is taking too much time, and we’re treated to more moments of Carrie waiting around and almost crying. I need to pull out all of my hair when I have to watch Carrie wait, it is really that painfully scary. When Brody finally does arrive, the entire episode suddenly explodes – the physical reunion of Carrie and Brody is understandably quiet on the surface, but seeing Claire and Damien do this quiet clash is so rewarding; layer upon layer exists between the two, where Carrie reveals that she’s back at Langley but can’t talk about her work, drawing the line between Brody her “new life.” Could these two be more complicated? It’s like they’re about to jump in bed together, enjoy the sex, and then wait for the other to fall asleep first so they can successful suffocate their real fake lover to death.
Carrie is given big applause on her return to the secret bunker, but this is a tiny victory in the grand scene of things. Brody secretly meets with Roya in the middle of a crowded hallway, but her status as a member of the press is so well established that she isn’t immediately see as part of Nazir’s secret army; while the CIA can afford many eyes, ears are far too difficult, so the conversation goes unheard. Brody calls Carrie “stubborn as sh*t” (true), and Roya wants Brody to renew the relationship. Brody and Carrie are awful together! I can’t wait! Confusing sex in the parking lot after group therapy!
We’re still dealing with Brody’s military brethren feeling suspicious about the whole Walker connection/conspiracy, but that plotline is moving terribly slow compared to everything else, so we’ll just see where that goes in the future. A more interesting, seemingly unimportant plotline deals with Dana falling for Finn, the Vice President’s son; in a nutshell, Dana is going to sleep with Finn after bitchslapping the actual Vice President with her hilariously intelligent insults. Like, Dana insulted the Vice President of the United States to his face and could literally care less. I would love to see her Instagram account. More importantly, what’s at stake here? What is the VP dealing with behind the scenes? Dana’s appearance concludes with a nighttime visit to the good ol’ Washington Monument (or the Big White Pencil, as used to call it) for some Secret Service chaperoned shenanigans. There is a lot of baby kissing and baby cheating, as Dana kisses Finn and then remembers that Xander is her boyfriend. Oops. Two points for Finn!
Back in the bunker, we discover that Brody met with 43 individuals after his thoroughly planned random run-in with Carrie; Brody wants Virgil/Jasper to look into all the Arabs he met with first, because Saul believes that there are times when “racial profiling” should really just be called “profiling.” Saul’s a big fan of controversial real talk and/or controversial maybe mole talk. Is that mole suspicion still in play? Should I be worried about Saul, and therefore everything that has ever happened in the history of television? Carrie has her first night duty with Peter, and the two have a bonding moment over food (“I like olives,” says Peter) and will probably have sex before the end of the season.
Carrie is still waiting around with Peter, trading details about their lives and maybe trying to kiss a lot if we weren’t watching. Why do I want that relationship to happen? Why do I need elements of My So-Called Life in all Claire Danes television experiments? Brody checks into his nice hotel sans Jessica, while the night agents wait for Brody to contact his handler; this all sort of feels like The Wire with all the listening to phone taps in secret bunkers, only now we are dealing with the lives of the leaders of the U.S. government instead of mentally insane Baltimore drug dealers. Homeland likes to raise the stakes as high as possible, naturally. Brody decides not to call his handler, but instead give Carrie a ring. She’ll meet him at the hotel bar for a drink. This is scary. Carrie is scared.
Peter can tell that Carrie had a sexual history with Brody, and before Carrie heads out, he asks – “was it work or love?” Carrie obviously can’t answer that question, and if she could, we’d be free of a lot of the tension that sits at the heart of this show. Duh… I cannot go through the hotel bar conversation blow-by-blow, because I think I would pass out. But yes. Brody informed Carrie that the hotel bar meeting is “not a booty call,” and Carrie goes on to call Brody has his wife the new JFK and Jackie O. Carrie is flipping her hair and dropping hints about Abu Nazir, but she becomes noticeably flustered when Brody “apologizes” for turning her over to Estes and causing her to undergo severe treatment; Carrie actually thanks Brody for his help in finding control, but it suddenly becomes clear that this meeting is horrifying – is Brody trying to break her down? Is Carrie really better than before her crazy breakdown? Where would Carrie be if she hadn’t been told so fervently that she was wrong about Brody? I have so many questions because Carrie’s emotions are too important to me; I hate to see her played by the men in her life.
Brody charges the bar tap to his room, 416, and heads up for the night. Carrie checks in with Peter and Saul, thinking she blew the entire exchange when she became so visibly exasperated; she thinks that Brody knows about her work, and that he’s about to slip through their fingers. Is it possible that Carrie just wants to have sex? Everyone thought that, right? Carrie ignores orders to return to the bunker and heads for the elevator.
Brody enters his hotel room, sipping Fiji water (I now must switch fancy bottled water because I cannot drink the things that a scary ginger terrorist would drink). There is a knock at the door. Brody opens the door. Carrie insinuates that since Brody mentioned his room number while paying for the drinks, she should… come up. But then. BUT THEN.
Carrie: “It reeks, you know.”
Brody: “My confusion?”
Carrie: “Your bulls**t.”
Carrie begins letting it all unravel. Carrie begins explaining – “Do I want to be friends with a demented ex-solider who hates America, who decided that strapping on a bomb was the answer to what ailed him…? Who in the end didn’t have the stones to go through with it but had no problem sending me to the nuthouse? Yeah… no thanks. I don’t think I need a friend like that.” HOLY HELL, CARRIE. Carrie asks Brody if he’ll kill her now, and just blame it on rough sex. Moments before Brody is officially arrested, he spits out that he used to like her. Carries screams back, “I loved you.” The CIA team swarms the room, taking Brody down.
Whoa. Brody is led out of the hotel with a black bag over his head – Carrie has taken the entire mission into her own hands, and Claire Danes nailed the edge between the professional and achingly personal need for swift vengence. I can barely make any jokes about this episode because it was really just kept slapping me across the face. I believe that Homeland (and, honestly, American Horror Story) is teaching us a different way to watch television, where we deal with critical plot developments in a single episode that certain shows might wait full twelve episodes to unleash. Homeland is, now, a brand new show. I’m glad we moved past some of the zany, slightly distracting asides in the first couple of episodes. We’ve rebooted hard since that Season 1 finale dilemma. Amen.
[Image Credit: Kent Smith/SHOWTIME (2)]
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